Extraction of lipids from aqueous protein-rich streams using near-critical dimethylether

An extraction process for obtaining lipids from aqueous protein/lipid mixtures has been developed using near-critical dimethylether (DME) as the solvent. The process has been demonstrated on fresh and reconstituted egg yolks, and on selected dairy by-product streams. The lipid yield is dependent on the processing temperature, solids content and feed ratio of solvent to liquid. The extent of protein denaturation is also dependent on these parameters. The phase equilibria of DME-water-phospholipid mixtures are presented with modeling of the DME-water system using the Peng-Robinson equation of state.